Developing a new product line to improve donor-lung preservation during transport and storage?

A lung transplant is the only treatment for many end-stage patients suffering from lung failure. Lung failure is when the lungs can't get enough oxygen. It can be caused by an injury or by several diseases, for example;

* chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,
* pulmonary arterial hypertension,
* cystic fibrosis,
* idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Most transplanted lungs, 90% in fact, are preserved and transported using an ice box. Lungs can only be kept in an ice box for 4 to 6 hours which limits their 'shelf-life'. The ice box also limits the number of people that could be successfully matched with the organ for transplantation meaning patients in need of a transplant are waiting longer.

To overcome these challenges, ScubaTx has developed a new automatic organ-care system. The system uses advanced temperature control (ATC) and a technique called Persufflation. Persufflation is where the donor organ is put into a saline solution and provided with oxygenated air to increase its 'shelf-life' from 6 hours to 24 hours or longer.

This project will extend the current ScubaTx organ transport platform. Transporting lungs can be challenging. For example, the lungs are a large organ, and they must be kept inflated to avoid collapse. This new project aims to understand and overcome these challenges.

Working with Newcastle University, the success of the organ transport system will be assessed using human lungs which cannot be used for transplant. These studies will look at how different temperatures and oxygen can increase the lung's 'shelf life' to more than 24 hours. The safety and success of the ScubaTx system will be checked using split lung model experiments. These are experiments which involve perfusing and ventilating both lungs from the same donor at the same time and independently without risking the patient's life. When the project ends, a new lung care system, and the data to support regulatory approval, will have been c